A driver who attempted to pass a bus in Wilton Manor, Florida, and struck a group of kids, killing two, is still being searched for after his vehicle was discovered.
The man injured four children and killed two, ages 5 and 6, while attempting to pass a Broward County Transit bus in a 2009 Honda Accord sedan while the bus was pulling out to merge into his lane around 2:45 p.m. Monday, deputies said, according to The Sun-Sentinel. The car cut in front of the bus and swerved right, where the man drove off the road into a sidewalk and driveway, hitting the children, the sheriff's office said.
The driver fled from the scene after hitting the children.
"When I came out the kids were lying on the ground," said a resident of the apartment building where the crash occurred, The Sun-Sentinel reported. "The car was gone that hit them."
Broward's Sheriff's office identified the two children killed as Kylie Jones, 5, and Andrea Fleming, 6, according to The Sun-Sentinel. They died at the scene by the apartment building, the Broward's Sheriff's office said.
Wilton Manors Police Chief Gary Blocker posted a letter on Facebook saying the "Island City is heartbroken, and our police department stands with you as we support these families in this time of need."
"Today there is a somber atmosphere here in our Island City. We will remain Island City Strong as we support one another through this tragedy in our search for a pathway toward better days that lie ahead," Blocker wrote.
Andrea Fleming's uncle, Stanley Holcomb Sr. had something to say to the driver who killed his niece: "Have a heart and turn yourself in," Holcomb told the Miami Herald Tuesday.
"She kept us smiling and kept my heart going. It's too bad I couldn't be there to save her," Holcomb said, according to the Miami Herald.
The injured, two 9-year-old girls, a 10-year-old boy and a 2-year-old boy, were taken to a hospital with severe injuries, but their conditions were unknown Tuesday.
"This event is a horrific event any time of the year, let alone right after the holidays," Steven Gollan, a battalion chief with the Fort Lauderdale Fire Department, said at a news conference Monday night. Wilton Manors is located just outside of Fort Lauderdale.
The Wilton Manor Police Department set up a family reunification center at the City Hall Emergency Operation Center.
